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Measuring the Interaction Force Between a Droplet and a Super-hydrophobic Substrate by the Optical Lever Method
Published on: June 14, 2019
How water droplets evaporate on a superhydrophobic substrate
Hanneke Gelderblom1, Álvaro G Marín, Hrudya Nair
1Physics of Fluids, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands.
Abstract:
Evaporation of water droplets on a superhydrophobic substrate, on which the contact line is pinned, is investigated. While previous studies focused mainly on droplets with contact angles smaller than 90°, here we analyze almost the full range of possible contact angles (10°-150°). The greater contact angles and pinned contact lines can be achieved by use of superhydrophobic carbon nanofiber substrates. The time evolutions of the contact angle and the droplet mass are examined. The experimental data are in good quantitative agreement with the model presented by Popov [Phys. Rev. E 71, 036313 (2005)], demonstrating that the evaporation process is quasistatic, diffusion-driven, and that thermal effects play no role. Furthermore, we show that the experimental data for the evolution of both the contact angle and the droplet mass can be collapsed onto one respective universal curve for all droplet sizes and initial contact angles.
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